Building a Game Setup Tool in Unity: My Progress and Future Improvements

 



Introduction

As part of my ongoing work with Unity, I’ve been developing a Game Setup Tool, a custom editor window designed to streamline the process of setting up players and enemies within the Unity environment. This tool makes it easier to configure game elements directly from the editor without manually placing objects in the scene. Below, I’ll Walk through what I’ve built so far, how it works, and ideas for improvement.


Current Features

1. Player Setup

The tool allows developers to:

  • Select a player prefab from the available assets.

  • Set an initial health value for the player.

2. Enemy Setup

The enemy placement system lets users:

  • Choose an enemy prefab to spawn in the scene.

  • Define the number of enemies to spawn.

  • Set a starting position for enemy placement.

  • Automatically place enemies in a line along the X-axis with simple offsetting.

3. Easy Scene Testing

  • A “Play Game” button allows instant playtesting by entering Unity’s Play Mode.

  • Undo functionality is integrated when placing enemies, allowing users to quickly revert changes.

Code Walkthrough

The core functionality revolves around Unity’s EditorWindow class, allowing us to create a custom UI in the Tools menu. Here’s a breakdown:

Custom Editor Window

We use EditorGUILayout.ObjectField for object selection and EditorGUILayout.IntField for numerical inputs, giving a simple and intuitive interface for modifying game parameters.

Spawning Enemies

The PlaceEnemies() function instantiates multiple enemy prefabs in a line using Unity’s PrefabUtility.InstantiatePrefab() method. Right now, the placement is quite simple, just shifting each new enemy along the X-axis.

Play Mode Integration

With the PlayGame() function, users can start play mode directly from the tool by setting EditorApplication.isPlaying = true.

Potential Enhancements

While the tool works well for basic scene setup, there’s plenty of room for improvement:

1. More Dynamic Enemy Placement

  • Randomized positions: Instead of just shifting along the X-axis, I could allow for a more dynamic scatter-based placement.

  • Grid-based placement: Enemies could be positioned in a structured formation for better level design control.

  • Spawn point integration: Users could select predefined spawn points instead of entering raw coordinates.

2. Additional Player Settings

  • Add an inventory setup to let users define initial player items.

  • Allow setting a custom player starting position within the scene.

3. Expanded Play Mode Features

  • Let users choose whether to start in full-screen mode or a specific scene.

  • Implement scene saving before launching Play Mode to prevent data loss.

4. UI & Usability Improvements

  • Drag-and-Drop Support: Instead of selecting prefabs from a dropdown, users could drag objects directly into the tool.

  • Better Error Handling: Add warnings when objects are missing, or invalid values are entered.

  • Tooltips & Help Guide: Provide short descriptions or hints within the editor window.

Final Thoughts

This Game Setup Tool is a great step toward making game development in Unity more intuitive. With some refinement, it could become a powerful level design assistant, helping developers quickly iterate on their setups. The next steps involve improving the placement logic, expanding customization options, and refining the user interface.

I’m excited to continue working on this tool and seeing how it can evolve into something even more robust. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, feel free to share them!

Comments

Post a Comment